Suzaku's Ordeal
by Night and Gale
Summary: In a side-story, the Shikon Jewel tangles the lives of a fire demon, a monk, and several villagers. Now Naraku threatens to destroy them all in his pursuit of the Jewel shards.
1. Monk and Demon

This is a new story, hope you like it! I wrote a draft, scrapped it, wrote another, scrapped that, and finally came out with what you see here.

I'm afraid you won't see the Inu-gumi for a while. This is a sidestory with original characters, showing the effect of the Shikon Jewel, Naraku and Inuyasha on the lives of complete strangers.

Chapter 1: Fire Demon

Takayuki staggered along the footpath that cut through an ancient forest. He was exhausted. The yellow robes of his monastery were stained with sweat and dirt. His journey had taken him part way up Masujima Mountain and across the river at its base. At least it had been a success: his prize was wrapped in a square of silk and tucked in a hidden pocket of his robe. The village he served was less than a quarter-mile away, and the small Buddhist temple where he lived two miles beyond. Takayuki thanked Buddha for granting him the strength to return home.

The prayer had just passed his lips when he felt a tingle of danger. A yokai was nearby. He called out, "Show yourself, demon!"

She stepped out from between two trees, barring his path. She was shapely but with the delicate bone structure of a bird. Her short, curly hair was black with crimson tips that framed clear green eyes. She wore leggings and a sleeveless top.

"Houshi-sama," she purred in a seductive alto. Her fangs flashed between her lips as she said, "You bear a heavy load. Allow me to lighten it."

"I must refuse your generous offer," the monk replied calmly.

The demon pouted. "You are unfaithful to your vows. You renounced worldly goods, houshi-sama, yet you carry the wealth of a daimyo in your pocket. Resist temptation: give the jewel shards to me."

"No."

Her voice sneered. "I grow impatient, monk. I feel no pleasure in slaughtering fledgling humans, especially ones too weak to walk. However, I won't let you leave with the Shikon shards. So choose: either you give me the shards and leave unscathed, or I take them from your corpse." The air surrounding her shimmered like heat waves from the intensity of her demonic aura.

The young monk watched her with eyes the color of the calm sea. "I cannot give these shards to any who would taint them. May Buddha's mercy keep you on your true path."

The demon's sneer faded, replaced by wariness. She turned slowly to survey the forest behind her, all of her senses straining. She felt the brush of another demonic presence once again. "I'll deal with you later, boy. Now get back."

The ground shook from a giant's footsteps as Takayuki scrambled away to the base of a giant oak. Two of the trees beside the female demon shuddered and toppled over, uprooting themselves. A great bear-demon emerged, fully twenty feet tall standing upright on her back legs. The she-bear roared at the smaller demon, "Get out of my way, weakling! I am Kodama the Claw of the Bear Clan. Who dares to defy me?"

The human-shaped demon smiled ingratiatingly up at her opponent. "I'm called Quickfire." Her aura blazed and crackled around her. "And I found the Shikon shards first. Tough luck."

"I will crush you!" Kodama yelled. She swung her left arm to destroy the human-sized demon, but bellowed in pain when a stream of flame shot from Quickfire's hands and burned through the bear's limb at the elbow. Still howling, the she-bear uprooted an ancient tree and hurled it at her opponent.

Quickfire readied one of the four master techniques. "Seiryu's Shield," she called as waves of flame rippled out around her like the circular ripples caused by a pebble in water. The tree struck the shield and was incinerated completely before it reached its target.

Kodama the Claw retreated in front of the lethal shield technique. Quickfire dropped into a crouch and placed both hands on the ground. "Genbu's spear," she called as the earth beneath her hands superheated and exploded. The heat traveled like a spear aimed at the she-bear; the giant was knocked off her feet by an underground explosion.

Quickfire turned her back on her defeated opponent. She spotted the young monk's yellow robes amid the charred wood and splinters. He was unharmed but shaken. Quickfire felt a twinge of disappointment that he was so young and weakened; she always enjoyed fighting strong opponents, and he wasn't bad looking . . .

Quickfire was ten paces from the monk when she felt Kodama's demonic energy surge. Turning in disbelief, she saw that the she-bear's severed arm had reattached itself without even a scar. It was too late; Kodama's casual swat caught the smaller demon and flung her thirty feet, where she slammed into an ancient hemlock tree seven feet in diameter.

Quickfire's thoughts were scattered: "Fast. Much too fast. How can the she-bear move so fast? And the arm. I tore off her arm. How was she able to heal?" Her vision swam in and out of focus. She tried to sit up fully, but a searing pain in her ribs and terrible nausea kept her still. "Mild concussion," she thought, "six broken ribs, difficulty breathing. Kuso, I can't fight her when I'm this badly injured. I need more power. I need . . ." Her gaze shifted to the left, searching for the monk. "All I need is the jewel shards. They'll restore me . . ."

She saw a patch of yellow, and crawled towards it with determination. Every movement was accompanied by the sound of grating bone. She grabbed the collar of his robes and shook him weakly, whispering, "Give me the shards!" He pushed her away, jarring her ribs.

Quickfire's vision darkened. The giant bear-demon towered above, all of her teeth shown in a horrible grin. The pieces clicked together in Quickfire's mind. "Kodama must have jewel shards of her own. I underestimated her . . ." Desperately, the wounded demon tried to aim her "Byakko's arrow" attack, even knowing that the stream of flame would be useless if it missed the bear-demon's shard. She tried to stand, but the movement triggered violent vomiting.

Quickfire had only a hazy idea of what happened after that. Kodama raised a hind foot to stomp on her enemy, but was thwarted by a shimmering blue globe. Quickfire's eyes were dazzled by the spirit shield, which was the exact same shade as the monk's eyes. Takayuki was near collapse. He began to cough violently. Beside him lay Quickfire, who was crippled by her injuries. He could still hear her whispering, in turns demanding the shards and begging for them. A part of him was tempted to hand the shards over and run. Instead, he cradled the injured demon's head in his hands and murmured a mantra to calm himself. Healing energy flowed from his fingers.

Quickfire's mind cleared and everything snapped into focus. She saw a drop of sweat trickling down the young monk's face. She watched the spirit shield shudder and flicker under a barrage of Kodama's blows. At the moment the shield failed completely, Quickfire performed the most difficult of her techniques: "Suzaku's spirit."

Takayuki felt the fire demon's soul leap from her body. It was the shape of a bird with a ten-foot wingspan; its plumage was living flame and its tail was smoke. The bird passed right through the bear-demon's belly, then streaked up above the treetops.

Kodama's eyes widened with shock before collapsing backward, dead. From the she-bear's forehead fell a single glittering jewel shard. Before it touched the ground, there was a "swish" and a warm breeze; the flaming bird had swooped down and caught the shard in its beak. It dropped its prize into the young monk's lap and dove back inside Quickfire's body.

Immediately, she began to cough and struggled against the monk. With a feeling of awe, Takayuki touched gentle fingers to each temple and eased her into a deep, healing sleep.


	2. Jewel's Curse

Does Quickfire seem to superhero-ish to you? I'm a bit worried I made her too Mary-Sue/Wonderwoman. I promise you, besides a bit of agility, she's already used every power she has: four attacks, named after the four Saint Beasts. By the way, Yu Yu Hakusho, Fushigi Yugi, etc, DID NOT invent them; they're part of Shinto mythology. Byakko the White Tiger (wood, which I took to mean "air"), Seiryuu the Blue Dragon (metal, which I took to mean "water"), Genbu the Brown Tortoise (earth) and Seiryu the Red Bird (fire). I admit that I took some liberties.

Chapter 2: Jewel's Curse

Quickfire opened her eyes and saw an unfamiliar thatched roof. She found herself lying on a straw mattress inside a hut that smelled of wood smoke. The young monk entered, and she was dazzled by the momentary bright sunlight. Takayuki deposited his armful of sticks next to the fire pit before turning to the demon and bowing slightly.

"What are you doing?" she growled in a scratchy voice.

"Fetching firewood."

"You know what I mean, monk. Why am I here?"

The monk ignored her, but scooped a cupful of water from the wooden bucket beside the door. Quickfire accepted the water with bad grace but drank the entire cupful. It was a rough earthenware mug; the hands that had formed it had left bumps and indentations.

Takayuki began to build a fire from twigs and bits of bark. While feeding the smoking flame with larger and larger twigs, he said abruptly, "I carried you to my temple because you were so badly injured. You slept for two days."

"You would have been wiser to leave me to die. You must know that I'll kill you and take the shards."

"Perhaps," he answered, imperturbable.

"You think I can't?" She flung back the blanket and charged him, her hands reaching for his throat. The floor dipped and swayed under her feet and her vision doubled. She reached forward blindly, falling, and Takayuki caught her.

Lowering her back onto the pallet, he said seriously, "I think you don't really want to."

"I swear to you, I will kill you and take the Shikon shards! Dammit," she cursed as the pieces of her lower left rib ground together. Defeated, she lay still.

"It might be wisest to wait until after you eat," he suggested. He put water over the small fire to boil and added rice from a large sack. As he stirred, he made conversation. "This food comes from the village two miles to the east. The headman is generous to those serving the gods, Buddhist and Shinto alike."

He spooned out equal portions into two earthenware bowls and handed one to Quickfire. She poked at the rice dish suspiciously. "What did you put in this?"

"Herbs, dried fruit and some daikon radish I grow in the garden behind the temple. It's bland, but it's food."

Quickfire was forced to agree; she found herself eating faster than she could chew. He served her two more portions, but ate only one bowl himself. Takayuki extinguished the small fire and went outside to clean the dishes. Quickfire took a moment to look around the spartan temple. There were a couple of rice-bags, dried roots and herb leaves, a single woven tatami mat, a couple of blankets and a wood-carved image of the Buddha on a small shrine. At the Buddha's feet, three jewel shards winked in the dim light.

Quickfire crawled to the shrine and reached for the shards, but jerked her hand back. She stared at her hand, amazed. She had never before felt what it was to be burned, to be hurt by heat. Fire demons couldn't be harmed by flame, but the monk's warding spell on the shards felt like a painful heat. Frustrated, she crawled back to the pallet a moment before Takayuki reentered. He set the cleaned dishes in the corner and carefully hung fresh herbal plants from the rafters to dry.

Out of the silence, he said, "No."

"What?"

"No, killing me won't destroy the warding spell. It now exists independent of my will."

Quickfire blushed with simultaneous guilt and frustration. How had he known? And how was she to defeat the warding spell? "Will it fade?"

"Eventually, if I do not recast the spell, but that could take months or years," Takayuki answered. She glared at the young monk, her frustration at her powerlessness redirected into smoldering anger.

Takayuki sat in prayer position, but turned to look at the demon. "What is your name?" She stared at him in confusion. "How am I to pray for you if I don't know your name?"

"I don't need your prayers."

"Perhaps. Still, you are a guest in the temple I tend. Won't you tell me?"

"I'm called Quickfire."

Takayuki regarded her with clear blue eyes. "I didn't ask what others called you. I asked for your name."

The demon couldn't stand the frank earnestness of those eyes. She looked away and muttered, "Koichira. It's what my parents called me."

"Koichira-san, I welcome you to this temple. May Buddha's mercy be granted to you." Takayuki returned to his meditation, but looked up again after only ten minutes. "Koichira-san, I sense that there is something you wish to ask me. Please do, so that I may meditate undisturbed." It was the closest he had come to impatience.

"I didn't say anything."

"Your unease disturbs my peace. What is your question?"

Koichira chose carefully. He had stonewalled her the last time she had asked why he had brought her here. "You said I didn't really want to take the shards. Why? Have you cursed them?"

Takayuki said, "The Shikon shards were already cursed when gathered them."

"What?"

"Any who try to use the shards for gain, selfish or unselfish, loses the way and sinks into evil and despair." He indicated two of the shards. "These two were being used by a squirrel demon. In the battle, he almost killed me."

Koichira scoffed. "A squirrel demon is a woodland spirit. It doesn't kill."

Takayuki sighed. "When it used the shards, the squirrel lost its way and turned to violence. It killed its own mate in paranoia."

The Koichira knew that squirrel demons mated for life. For one to kill its mate was inconceivable, but so was one of the timid spirits attacking a human. She wouldn't admit it, but Koichira was shaken by the monk's story. She changed the subject: "How did you beat the she-bear?"

Takayuki looked surprised. "Don't you remember? You were the one who killed Kodama, not I."

"I cut off her arm, but she reattached it and slammed me into a tree. I . . . I don't remember anything after that."

The monk paused, trying to find the words to explain. "You . . . sent your soul out. It attacked the she-bear, severing the connection between her body and her soul."

"That's impossible."

"I saw it. Your soul took the form of a great phoenix."

"Phoenix? You mean the Suzaku technique?" Koichira struggled to remember. "I've tried it, but never succeeded. I always black out," she admitted with some shame.

"Perhaps your conscious mind and memory are left black when your soul soars away," Takayuki suggested.

The demon considered this, then asked, "Why didn't Kodama revive? She had the Shikon shard."

"No, the golden phoenix took it in its beak and gave it to me."

"Why the hell would I do that?"

Takayuki sighed. "It is my belief that your soul was protecting itself from the Shikon jewel's curse. Otherwise, it could have destroyed me as well and taken the shards I carried." He closed his eyes and bowed his head, ending the discussion. Koichira stared at him, uncertainty gnawing at her anger.


	3. Bath

Action is taking a hiatus; some brief chapters to establish future fluff and angst. Y'know how every comedy has a scene where the hero walks in on the heroine while she's bathing, and she beats him senseless (even when he's a superhero and she's a twig) ? This is my spin on that scene.

Chapter 3: Bath

The fire demon rose before dawn and slipped out. The temple was built in the valley between two wooded hills. In the small clearing the monk had planted a small, well-tended vegetable garden. Koichira didn't like it. She preferred wild roots and berries to those planted, and gardens never felt free or peaceful. The demon was looking for a spring or small river where she could bathe away the stench of sickness and confinement. She paused as if listening and extended her senses to her surroundings.

First she touched the grass beneath her feet, feeling its struggle to stand upright despite her crushing weight. There was a field mouse in its hole a meter to the left that was gnawing on grains of rice that the monk had washed from his dishes. Koichira skipped past these sensations, searching. She felt a comforting warmth behind her: the monk himself. Puzzled, the demon's consciousness shrank back away from him. Koichira had never before sensed a human's heart, only his powers. It was a deeply unsettling experience. The Shikon jewel glowed in her mind like a blinding white light; Koichira's mind retreated from its intensity. Stretching her mind farther, the demon was able to sense the patience of the old trees of the forest and, at the very edge of her range, a bird singing sweetly to attract a mate. Koichira was mildly surprised when a consciousness reached out to her. As the spirit's mind brushed against her own, the fire demon felt its glittering joy and the coolness of flowing water.

Koichira walked slowly in the direction she had sensed the river spirit. She was unsurprised to find a path winding through the trees; the monk must travel this path several times a day to fetch water. In time she reached the small river, and followed its spirit's guidance down river to a deep pool. She dipped her foot in the water and jerked it out. It was as cold as ice. The fire demon felt the river spirit's laughter shimmering on the pool's surface. Koichira hesitated for a moment. Though she knew it would be extremely rude, she felt a moment's temptation to heat the small pool with her powers. Instead, she stripped and jumped in. She felt tiny currents tickling her and moving through her hair like gentle fingers. The fire demon scrubbed herself vigorously, then shook herself as a wet dog would. She felt the sensation of gentle warmth again and realized that the young monk had come to the river to fetch water.

Takayuki bowed to the river and asked its blessing before wading in to scoop water from the fastest-flowing section of the stream. Koichira could feel in her very bones the river spirit's exuberance. Every droplet sparkled with new energy, longing to flow upstream and into the monk's bucket. Koichira had never seen such excitement in an elemental before, even in the playful and affectionate river spirits. The spirit's energy was so joyful and uninhibited, Koichira couldn't help laughing.

The monk, startled, looked up to find who was laughing. He seemed unembarrassed by the fire demon's nakedness, but bowed to her in solemn greeting and turned back to his task. Koichira stepped from the river and summoned fire to engulf her completely. The flame dried her within a second, but didn't spread to the twigs or dry leaves; the fire obeyed Koichira's will. She was entirely dry when she slipped on her clothing.

As she walked back to the temple, the fire demon listened carefully to the murmuring of the wind through the branches and the soft voices of the other spirits. It confirmed what she had just begun to suspect: all of the woodland spirits adored the young monk. His care and reverence had gained their complete trust. Koichira paused on the temple's threshold. If Takayuki was able to tame the powerful and unpredictable forest spirits, he would be able to tame a wounded fire demon easily, no matter how surly she was. Koichira stepped inside and closed the door behind her, knowing she was leaving behind the freedom of her former life.


	4. The Village

LONG chapter warning! I'm doing a terrible job spacing out my chapter breaks. Ah, well, it could be worse. Angst, too. Well, this whole piece is pretty angsty.

OK, I lied. Bad author, bad author! No biscuit! I promised that Koichira didn't have any more powers, and I lied: she talks to elemental spirits. This is where I get major Mary-Sue points on the "Is your Fanfic a Mary-Sue?" quiz. I promise you, though, that she doesn't get along well with fuzzy animals or command the wind. Well, she could always try, but the wind jinns would laugh in her face. In her case, the power is like eavesdropping. The spirits don't really notice her existence.

Chapter 4: The Village

Takayuki noticed the change in his patient immediately. Though she remained aggressive, her temper was gone. She was close to gracious when she thanked him for lunch, a rice soup. Just when he let his guard down, though, she helped herself to more soup by lifting the pot off the fire with her bare hands. He choked on his mouthful and spent several minutes trying to calm his coughing. He was almost certain she smirked when she fetched him a cup of water. She didn't help with the dishes, but she followed him around with single-minded purpose.

The monk pulled on his wood-frame backpack, filled with sutras and medicinal herbs. "I need to go visit the village," he explained, "I'm-- ah-- going through rice faster than I expected."

Koichira accepted this wordlessly, but wouldn't be deterred from following. Takayuki warned, "The villagers are very nervous about-- ah-- strangers."

Koichira flashed her fangs in a mocking grin. "Especially strangers who happen to be-- 'ah'-- demons?" She enjoyed seeing him squirm a bit.

"Do as you like," the monk conceded.

The day was pleasant, with a light breeze blowing from the east. Koichira watched two jinns tug at the monk's hair, and found herself laughing again at the tiny wind sprites' antics. "The spirits really do love you, monk."

"What?"

"The woodland spirits and the elementals. They swarm around you. I have never seen them so taken with a human before."

The monk considered this carefully. "You mean . . . you can see them? They are real?"

Koichira couldn't hide her surprise. She knew that Shinto priests worshipped the spirits; she had assumed that Buddhist monks would as well. Takayuki didn't even believe in them. Nevertheless, he honored them in his every action in the name of Buddha. It was fortunate that spirits didn't care much about names.

The fire demon followed the monk the two miles to the village, but refused to stay on the path. She meandered to the left side, then to the right, collecting a bouquet of flowers that looked like lupin, only they were bright yellow, orange or red.

Takayuki finally asked, "Why are you collecting fireweed?"

Koichira grinned, held up a single stalk and summoned a flame to engulf it. The flower was unaffected by the blistering heat. "Fireweed oil can't be burned. I have to treat my clothes and valuables with it regularly, or they'd burn away when I use my power."

The monk was interested. "I never knew that these plants didn't burn." He accepted the stalk and sniffed the flower, then gagged.

"Unfortunately, it smells terrible," Koichira mentioned.

The village was further down the valley, beside a large river. The wooden houses were small and built close to one another. The settlement was surrounded on all sides by fields of rice paddies.

Koichira walked close to Takayuki when they entered the small town, and her eyes constantly scanned the buildings and people for threats.

One jovial man came up to the pair and slapped Takayuki on the back. "Houshi-sama, good to see you again! That's a fine-looking woman you've got with you. Still, so people won't think badly of a holy man like you, I'd better take care of her for you." The bearded stranger winked at Koichira. "Won't you step into my house, pretty lady? I've got something I want to show you."

Koichira locked eyes with the man. He met her gaze for two seconds before blushing scarlet. A moment later, all the blood drained from his face. The bearded man recognized the predator standing before him as inhuman. His voice shook as he begged, "Please forgive me, uh, Yokai-joshi." Koichira was amused by the new title. Ms Demon?

The headman came slowly out of his house. His movements were slow and deliberate, but despite his age he stood straight and proud. "Houshi-sama," he said in a voice like a gong, "may the blessings of your Buddha protect us all." The headman and Takayuki bowed deeply to each other and exchanged polite greetings. The grizzled man then squinted at Koichira. "May I ask the name of this beautiful lady, and her reason for coming to this humble village?"

"This is Koichira-san. She-- ah--" the monk trailed off, uncertain.

"I am a fire demon, but where Takayuki-sama goes, I go," Koichira interrupted. "For now."

"You are welcome here, Koichira-dono. If there is anything you require, you need only ask." The headman bowed, and the bemused fire demon bowed in return. Where she had expected panic and aggression, she found nervous courtesy.

The headman pulled Takayuki aside. "Houshi-sama, a number of children have fallen ill. I don't wish to impose upon you . . ."

The monk answered, "I will examine them immediately."

The first child they visited lived close to the river. Koichira followed the others into a dark, airless house that stank of sickness. Takayuki examined the child lying on the floor while the mother hovered over them both. Koichira couldn't tolerate it; she went outside to clear her head.

She found it strange that the stench of something rotting was in the air outside as well. As if it wasn't coming from the ill child at all. It was coming from the slime-coated river. Koichira kicked off her sandals and waded into the murky water. She felt the river spirit's anger and hopelessness.

Takayuki had completed his examination of the young child. "His stomach is upset, and he has a high fever. He is probably suffering from the flu. I will mix together some herbs that should bring down his fever . . . Koichira? What is the matter?"

"The river is sick. You need to heal it."

Everyone was startled. Takayuki asked, "What are you talking about?"

"The river smells wrong; it's tainted. The river spirit is angry. It says the film of green slime is suffocating the fish, and its water makes the humans ill." They stared at her blankly. "Do none of you believe in spirits? What of the Shinto priest?"

The headman said slowly, "He said this boy was struck down by the anger of the rain spirit."

Takayuki suggested, "Perhaps Koichira is correct. His illness was likely caused by something he ate or drank."

Koichira felt that she had just missed something important, but couldn't figure out exactly what it was. Something about the smell . . . and rain . . . but only humans were made ill? The pieces clicked together. "It rained very hard two weeks ago. This valley must have been flooded, hm? Headman, where do you put the human crap?"

He was surprised. "There is a pit north of the village."

"Upriver," Koichira noted.

Takayuki realized what had happened. "Upriver . . . the rains must have swept some of the manure into the river. Headman, tell the villagers to get water from upriver of the pit."

The headman nodded. "Yes, I understand. But what of the villages downstream?"

Koichira said softly, "Takayuki, you have the power to purify the stream." He shook his head helplessly. "Trust the spirits. They have great faith in you."

Following the fire demon's instructions, Takayuki waded into the middle of the river, where the current was strongest. Curious villagers gathered on the bank. He cried in a loud voice, "Hear me, great river spirit. Appear before me, that I might heal you." He added in an undertone, "Koichira, I feel like an idiot. What am I doing?"

"You don't need to summon the spirit, monk. You're standing in the river, aren't you? The spirit is in every drop of that water."

"Oh. Then I just . . .?" He held his hands out over the water and concentrated. Healing power flowed from him, through the water and the air, encompassing everyone standing there.

Koichira gasped as the power's tendrils wrapped around her, threatening to erase every trace of pain in her body and mind. Her very memories and sense of self were unraveling. "Stop! Takayuki, enough!" The tendrils withdrew, leaving behind an unbearably sweet taste and a trace of sadness.

Like a familiar scent, the sweetness and melancholy released a flood of memories. First, the recent memory of Takayuki cradling her head, healing the concussion and reducing inflammation with his fingertips; the last memory before she blacked out using the Suzaku technique. Buried beneath these were memories that brought pain: a gentle hand smoothing her hair, but the hand became limp and heavy, then grew cold.

"Koichira. Koichira! Can you hear me?" Takayuki shook her firmly. She opened her eyes and looked around groggily. He tried to explain, "You yelled and collapsed. Are you all right? Lie still, and I'll heal you."

"No! Don't touch me!" The fire demon scrambled to her feet, stumbling into some of the onlookers. Beyond the humans, Koichira could seen the river running clean, its spirit frolicking amidst the rocks. "You . . . you healed the river. I'm glad." Takayuki reached out to support her, but she cringed away and wouldn't look at him. "I'm fine. I just need to be alone."

While in view of humans, the fire demon walked, but the moment she was in the forest she began to run. She leapt from rock to rock, dodged the branches. Breathing deeply was like knives in her sides because of her broken ribs, but she continued. If she could just run far enough, fast enough . . . tears blinded her for a moment and she tripped over a tree root, tumbling to the bottom of the ditch. Lost, alone, and bleeding inside her chest, she fell into fitful sleep. In every one of her dreams, her insides were being torn out by a wolf wearing Takayuki's face.


	5. Breaking and Mending

Cute kid coming up. I loved writing this chapter; please excuse the mild angsting.

Chapter 5: Breaking and Mending

"More bean paste?" the headman offered.

The monk shook his head. "I couldn't eat another bite. Thank you for your hospitality."

"You and your friend saved many lives today," the headman said. "I wish we were able to properly thank you both."

"To be honest, we met only a few days ago. I still don't understand Koichira at all."

The headman chuckled. "It is a relief to know that even the holy monks do not understand women. Some things are still mysteries to the gods themselves."

There was a soft step on the porch, then the screen slid aside with a hiss. Koichira stood in the door, silhouetted against the moonlit yard like a delicate shadow puppet. She stepped inside the circle of light cast by the lamps, destroying the effect.

"Koichira-dono, you are injured," the headman exclaimed.

"Hmm?" The fire demon looked down at her arms and legs, which were covered with scratches and mud smudges. A deep cut on her right cheek dripped blood down to the corner of her mouth; she could taste it. Her hands were stained with blood as well, but she couldn't remember how they had gotten that way.

"Sit down," the headman was urging her, "Please, sit and eat." He forced a bowl and chopsticks on her before adding hesitantly, "If there is anything we did to offend you . . ."

Koichira said, "No, Ojiisama. I was simply . . . frightened . . . by Houshi-sama's power." She poked at the food with the chopsticks. "His healing powers have a different effect on demons."

Takayuki blanched. "I hurt you?"

She continued to stare at her bowl. "Something like that." She set the bowl down and stood abruptly. "I only came to tell you that I'm going."

"Wait!" Takayuki grabbed her ankle; the fire demon stood as still as a statue. "I need your help."

Koichira was confused, but felt a flicker of hope. "You need me?"

"There's a boy in this village who broke his leg two seasons ago. It wasn't set properly, and it healed wrong. He will limp for the rest of his life if the bone isn't broken and reset correctly." The monk spoke quickly, trying to win her over with the sheer force of the words. "I haven't the strength to break the bone in exactly the right place, but you can do it."

Koichira hesitated, fearful, then bowed her head. "I'll stay till the morning. Then I must leave." She walked outside and lay down on the porch.

The headman protested, "I have fine mattresses and blankets in here . . ."

"Let her be," the young monk counseled. "She's a wild creature. However, if I might have a mattress . . ."

"It would honor me," the headman assured him.

Koichira knelt beside the boy. "What is your name?" she asked.

"Tsuruoka Yota," he answered, then added proudly, "I'm nine years old."

"Nine?" Koichira exclaimed, pretending to be surprised. "Surely not. You look much older than that." The boy beamed at the rare compliment. "Yota-kun, the headman says you have trouble walking on your right leg."

His face fell. "It hurts. I'm not supposed to complain, though." He looked up and said, "You're going to heal it, right? My mom said you were going to make it all better."

"Actually, I can't heal your leg, Yota-kun. I'm sorry. What I'm here to do is break it." Koichira paused to let her words sink in. "Afterwards, Takayuki will heal it correctly. It'll be like it was before you broke it two seasons ago."

The child was wide-eyed. "Is it going to hurt?" Koichira nodded solemnly. "A lot?" She nodded again. Yota gulped.

Yota's mother scolded, "You're scaring the boy. Stop it."

Koichira shrugged. "He's a big boy. He deserves to know the truth." She said to the boy, "It will hurt a lot for a minute, then Takayuki will make it all better."

Yota considered this carefully. "And it won't hurt when I walk?"

Koichira said, "Yes. You'll be able to walk without pain, and you'll even be able to run."

The boy's eyes shone. "Run? You promise?"

"I promise."

He bit his lip, thinking. Then he said, "I want you to do it. Break my leg and heal it right."

Koichira reached for his leg, but Yota jerked it away. "Wait! I'm not ready yet."

"Neither am I, Yota-kun. Just let me examine it first, OK? I'll tell you when it's going to hurt."

"OK." The boy let Koichira examine his shin. She found the place where it had broken originally; there was a bump on the side of his leg and the angle of the bone changed.

"Are you ready? I'm going to count to three, then break it. One--"

"Stop! Wait." Koichira watched him patiently. "OK," he said, "do it now."

"One, two--"

"No no no! Don't." Koichira waited. "Now you can do it, I guess."

Koichira nodded. "Now!" She snapped the bone as if it was a chicken's drumstick. Yota screamed and howled. Ignoring the child's pain, Koichira carefully set the rebroken bone. "Takayuki."

The monk laid healing hands in the leg, and Yota quieted instantly. "It doesn't hurt anymore!"

Koichira said, "Didn't I promise you, kid? One minute of pain, and then you'll be able to run again." She looked him seriously in the eye. "I'm proud of you, Yota-kun. You were very brave."

The boy looked ashamed. "I cried."

"That's not what's important," Koichira assured him. "Your decision was what mattered."

"Thank you, Koichira-dono."

"Please don't call me that." She made a face. "It makes me feel so old."

"Oh. Then can I call you Onee-san?"

Koichira smiled. "I'd like that, Yota-kun. I'm sorry, but I have to leave now." She walked to the door.

"Where are you going, 'Nee-san?"

"I don't know. East, probably."

"Will you ever come back?"

"We'll see." She walked out of the village, but was stopped on its outskirts by the headman.

"Koichira-dono, why are you going?"

"I don't belong here, Ojiisama. A sword used to plow the ground becomes dull. I need to stay hard and sharp to survive; living here in this peace would make me soft."

"Child, it is also true that a sword that is never sheathed is soon chipped or broken. You can't fight against the whole world." He saw that his words had little effect, so he changed tactics. "The monk needs your help. Won't you stay?"

"He . . . he's dying," she whispered.

"I know. Takayuki-san told me several years ago."

"How can I stay and watch someone I love die?" Koichira winced; she had said far more than she wanted to.

The old man watched her sadly. "The question you should be asking is, how can I abandon someone who cared for me?" The fire demon looked away guiltily, but remained resolute. "Goodbye then, child. I pray that you find your sheath." The headman bowed and went inside his house.


	6. The Hunt

SHORT chapter! Koichira plays with cute furry critters. Sort of.

Ch 6: The Hunt

Unsettled, Koichira followed a raised path between the rice paddies. Men in broad-brimmed hats waded in the water, carefully pulling out the weeds.

"Wait! Please, Onee-san, wait." The fire demon turned in time to be almost knocked over by Yota's exited hug. "Did you see? Did you see? I ran! My leg doesn't hurt at all."

"I'm glad, Yota-kun, but I must go."

"Take this!" The boy pushed something into her hands. "It's to say 'thank you'."

Koichira unfolded the four-inch blade of a handmade knife. It was clearly very precious to the boy. "I can't take this."

Yota pouted. "Don't treat me like a little kid. I'll be insulted if you refuse my gift."

"Is that so? Then I'd better accept it. Thanks, Yota-kun." The child beamed at her, then ran back to the village as fast as he could. He still favored his right leg slightly, but it was probably just from habit. Koichira wasn't quite prepared for the rush of loneliness she felt leaving this village. "Strange. I only spent one night here, but it felt like . . ." She shook herself mentally and didn't look back again. If she had, she might have seen the monk in yellow robes standing at the outskirts of the village, watching her leave.

Koichira stopped to rest at noon. The heat of the sun couldn't penetrate the leafy canopy, but the air was still and hot. Her stomach growled in complaint: she hadn't eaten anything but rice, beans and daikon radish for five days. The fire demon grinned as she decided to catch her own lunch; it had been too long since she'd had a good hunt.

Koichira refrained from searching for the rabbit's spirit; instead, she tracked it the usual way: bent double to examine the faint prints and the scat. She found it nibbling at a low shrub, its ears twitching every which way. The fire demon approached soundlessly, then pounced. Screaming, the rabbit scrambled out of reach of her initial lunge. Koichira crouched and leapt, knowing it was her last chance to catch this one. She grabbed it and her full weight came down on its back, snapping its neck.

"It was a fine chase, friend," she murmured into its fur. "I will honor your spirit and I give thanks for your meat." Koichira bit into its throat, her fangs tearing through skin and fur to reach the flesh inside. Hot blood gushed into her mouth and dribbled down her chin. "To think I considered giving all this up for a monk," she said self-mockingly.

Dusk was falling when Koichira scented putrid smoke. All of her senses alert, she crept forward to find that her path crossed the trail of a large animal. It had burned a wide east-west path through the forest. "A firerat." She looked at the size of the burned path. "A really big one." Firerats are born the size of large cats, but continue to grow throughout their lives. A long-lived rat can grow larger than a horse. Judging from the footprints, this one was three times the size of a full-grown ox. Firerats are predators who stalk the plains. Koichira could think of only one reason why one would be headed west into the mountains. "It's none of my business if a demon's after the Shikon shards. Why should I care?" the fire demon asked herself. She was already running along the swath of destruction in pursuit of the firerat before she could think of an explanation.


	7. Firerat

She may have seemed like Wonderwoman before, but Koichira's seriously outmatched when it comes to beating creatures immune to fire: firerats, cute hanyou wearing firerat coats . . .

These fearsome firerats are inspired by passing mention in the show/books. What is a firerat supposed to look like, anyway?

Chapter 7: Firerat

"Headman! Headman!" screamed the man on night watch. "Something's coming!"

The headman had been about to sit down to dinner with Takayuki for the second night in a row when the shout came. The old man was surprisingly fast on his feet, the monk realized; Takayuki was unable to catch up with the older man before he reached the lookout post.

"What are you hollering about, boy?" the headman asked gruffly.

"Over there, sir, beyond the first line of trees. Every few seconds, we see a yellow burst-- just like fire, sir."

Takayuki's heart leapt. Had Koichira returned? He was answered a moment later when a cluster of trees disappeared in a ball of flame and a monster walked through the bonfire.

"By the Gods!" the watchman breathed. "What is that?"

The headman stroked his beard thoughtfully. "That, my son, is a firerat. Rouse the village, quickly. We'll need every man here to drive it back." He added in a sour undertone, "If that's even possible."

The rat changed his pace from a lumbering walk to a earthshaking gallop, straight toward the village. There was a tightly-controlled panic in the village. The women gathered all of the children, many of whom cried at being so rudely awakened, and ran for the river. Young boys and girls helped the elderly to flee. The men and older boys grabbed hunting weapons or tools from their trade. Carrying their bows, shovels and axes, they ranged themselves in front of their houses, a pitiful single line of defense against the fiery monster.

The firerat slowed as it neared the village, swinging its head back and forth to sniff, as if it was searching for something. It continued to advance, more cautiously now, still sniffing. As it approached the village men close enough for them to smell its foul breath, one of the young men panicked. Screaming, he ran forward and thrust his spear into the monster's side. The shaft broke, leaving him standing with only a long, broken stick. The head turned slowly to examine the pestering human. With desperation's wild strength, the young man plunged the broken end of the shaft deep into the snout.

A firerat is most vulnerable around the eye, then the snout, then the ears or underbelly. The rest of it is covered with wiry hair as strong as steel, so they are not often injured.

The rat roared. It reared up on its hind legs and pawed frantically at the spear shaft embedded just behind its nose, but it was buried too deeply to be knocked loose. The young man who had wounded it tried to run too late. A rope-like tail as thick around as a man's leg knocked him flying. Then the monster opened its mouth and belched flame. The men closed ranks, trying to protect the ones who had been badly burned, but they knew their attempts were hopeless. Grinning, the monster opened its mouth again.

There was a single scream of fear before the fireball enveloped the entire group of men. When the flames died down, the monster saw that a woman was shielding them within expanding orbs of fire.

Most firerats are slow to understand new threats and adapt to them. Koichira had used surprise successfully both times she fought them. She was counting on it to work now; otherwise she was leaping straight into death's jaws with a four-inch switchblade in her left hand. She landed on the rat's bottom jaw just behind the row of teeth, grabbed hold of its nostrils with her right hand and vaulted herself up and over its upper jaw to land between its eyes.

The rat shook its head hard, trying to dislodge the pest, but she grabbed a handful of its hair and held on, bouncing comically from the left side of the rat's head to its right. Unfortunately, this firerat was older and more clever than any Koichira had fought. It rolled over, threatening to crush the fire demon. She let go at the last moment, flinging herself wide, and found herself wading in one of the rice paddies. Koichira jumped to avoid the rat's whip-like tail, but the suctioning mud slowed her down so much that she was hit in the chest.

Koichira landed in more muddy water, and had to struggle to keep her head above the water while catching her breath. Her ribs hadn't even healed yet from the she-bear's beating.

The firerat was exceptionally fast and agile for its size. In two seconds he was sinking his hand-length teeth into her upper arm. Koichira tried to scream but choked on the filthy water. The monster prepared to shake her until her right arm ripped off, but Koichira, in a desperate move, twisted herself parallel to the water and landed a kick in the firerat's left eye socket. When the creature opened its mouth to roar, Koichira pulled herself free and took two steps before tripping over the rice plants and sinking into the mud. The rat belched a fireball at her from two feet away.

The monster knew that sometimes creatures could still fight when they were badly burned, but it also knew that nothing survived a direct hit from his fireball. Still, just to be cautious, it turned its head to see his scorched opponent with his uninjured eye. The last thing it saw was the moon glinting off a four-inch switch blade.

The fireball had succeeded in instantly drying the patch of mud around her into clay hard enough for Koichira to jump from. She struck with all of the force of her leap, driving the small knife through the demon's eye and deep into its brain. Her left arm was coated in blood and bits of flesh up past the elbow. The dead firerat collapsed on its side, pinning Koichira beneath it, several inches below the water's surface.

One of the uninjured young men took charge, urging his comrades to save their rescuer. "On the count of three, everyone lift. One, two, HEAVE!" he called out in a strong baritone. While the others struggled to lift the monster's huge head, he pulled Koichira out from beneath it and dragged her out of the rice field to dry ground.

The victorious fire demon sputtered and coughed up water. She managed a weak grin for her rescuer, muttering, "Thought I was a goner that time."

He laughed heartily, "So did all of us, Koichira-joshi, before you came along. I'm Tsuruoka Itsuko." The name sounded familiar, but she couldn't place it. "I'm Yota's older brother. I was in the fields when it happened, but everyone says you healed his leg."

"Takayuki healed him. I just broke the leg."

Itsuko shrugged indifferently. "Both of you helped him run again. I wanted to thank you, but I heard you'd left. Why did you come back?"

"Um . . ."

Someone was shouting near the men who had been burned. No one had ever heard the monk raise his voice before. They parted immediately to let him pass. "Koichira? Where are you?"

Itsuko called, "Here, Houshi-sama. She's fine."

The monk ran, his muddy yellow robes flapping behind. He stared at her, horrified, clearly disagreeing with Itsuko's diagnosis. "Koichira? You're bleeding all over the place! These puncture wounds are filthy, and your right shoulder is dislocated . . ."

The fire demon grinned slightly. "I'm glad to see you too, Takayuki-sama . . ." The monk continued scolding, but it evened out to a gentle buzz as Koichira sank into unconsciousness.


	8. Laundry Day

A bit of gossip, a bit of how Koichira feels about her new life. Inane action.

Ch 8: Laundry Day

The village women scrubbed their laundry in the river before leaving it to dry on flat rocks. The sun was merciless. The older children looked after the younger children underneath a large oak.

While the women worked, they gossiped about the visitor. Misa, a middle-aged woman with graying hair, scolded, "It's absolutely disgraceful, the way the monk carries on with her in public!"

Kenta, a young woman only recently wed, said, "I think it's romantic. Takayuki-san is so handsome, and Koichira-san is beautiful."

"Nonsense," interrupted Hiroaki in her gravely voice, "Takayuki-sama wouldn't do such a thing. He's merely being kind to a lost soul, the poor girl."

Misa retorted, "That 'poor girl' is a fire demon! When she burns down half the village, don't come crying to me for pity."

Yumiko said quietly, "She saved us from the firerat. My Shoji was badly burned, but he says she defeated it single-handedly, even after she was hurt. We all owe her our thanks."

"The quiet one's right," Hiroaki pointed out. "She may be a demon, but she's the reason my grandson now walks without a limp."

"And my nephew was being poisoned by the river water," Kenta added enthusiastically. "I'm so glad she was able to talk to the river spirit and calm his anger."

"Don't be such a silly girl," said Misa. "There are no such things as spirits."

"You're wrong," Hiroaki croaked. "When I was young, we honored the spirits every time we killed a bird or fetched water. Life was hard, but the gods were good to us."

"All the elderly say that life was better when they were young," Kenta teased. "Why so fond of the past, Baa-san?"

"Humph," Hiroaki answered.

"Kaa-san! Kaa-san!" one of the older children was yelling, "We can't find Toshio. We've looked everywhere."

Misa panicked. "What? You've lost my boy? TOSHIO! Darling, where are you?"

The older child was stammering through tears, "We were playing a hiding game, but we searched and searched, and we can't find him. Something terrible has happened, I just know it!"

Hiroaki said sternly, "Stop blubbering, child. That won't help anything. Where did you last see him?"

The child cried even harder. "He was going into the forest, Obaa-sama."

Misa shrieked, "My child, my little boy!"

Unnoticed, Koichira unwrapped her legs from around the tree branch she'd been reclining on. Sighing, she hopped from one branch to another, then landed beneath the large oak.

The women were badly startled, and exchanged guilty looks. Had she heard them gossiping about her? Misa took one look at the demon and began shrieking again. "You bitch! You kidnapped him, didn't you? I knew it! I knew you were jealous . . ."

Koichira crossed her arms and leaned back against the oak's trunk. "Really, Misa-san, you shouldn't use such language around the children." Misa's jaw dropped and she sputtered, incredulous. "Hiroaki-sama, could you tell me what she's screaming about?"

"Her son wandered off." Hiroaki asked dryly, "Did you eat him?"

Koichira gave a bark of laughter and answered, "Little children have so much baby fat, they give me indigestion. Besides, I never eat humans between meals." Her face became serious. "About the boy, though . . ." Her eyes were unfocused as she stared into the distance.

"Where is he? What have you done to him?" screamed Misa, who was on the edge of hysterics.

Koichira shifted her gaze to glare at the woman. "Shut up. How am I supposed to hear them if you keep babbling?"

The women exchanged glances. Them? Kenta whispered, "She's talking to the spirits! This is so exciting."

Koichira ignored the women and reached out with her mind. The river was happy and relaxed, which meant that no little boy had drowned. A couple of birds had been startled by something and were scolding it angrily. The rabbits had also been startled, but didn't consider the curiously-shaped creature a great threat. A wind jinn was beside itself with excitement about its newest toy: a hairless fawn that was bleating nonstop.

Koichira laughed at this description. She explained hastily to the women, "The boy is fine. A wind spirit is looking after him." Several of the women looked skeptical. "Follow me; he's up this hill."

The little boy had wandered quite a distance in the ten minutes he was left unattended. His anxious mother seized him and smothered him in kisses. "Toshio-chan! Are you hurt? Don't ever wander off like that again. Are you listening?"

Toshio stared at his mother with wide eyes, trying to figure out what all the excitement was about. "Kaa-san, don't cry! Please don't, mommy."

Misa sniffled and turned to the fire demon. "Koichira-joshi, thank you for finding my son. I'm, uh, sorry about what I said earlier . . ." She blushed.

Koichira shrugged. "Whatever. Just don't expect me to baby-sit again, OK?"

"You . . . you forgive me? Just like that? But . . ." Misa protested guiltily.

Koichira cocked her head. "I'm a demon, remember? I only found your son because I felt like it." She grabbed an overhanging limb and swung herself up into the branches. Swinging from branch to branch, she cursed herself for getting involved. The villagers were all spoiled rotten from having Takayuki heal every scratch and bruise, they hardly needed a demon to watch their children. By the time she reached the monk's hut, she had worked herself into a black mood.

The truth was, she had lost track of which one of them, monk and demon, owed a debt to the other, but she didn't want to admit it. Admitting that she was no longer paying attention to favors meant a level of familiarity with the monk that she hadn't shared with anyone for more than a decade; even her love affairs were always cautious exchanges. Koichira spotted the object of her thoughts pulling weeds from the vegetable garden, and felt an unexpected wave of tenderness towards him. "Baka," she scolded herself, "it's just lust. He's handsome, caring, and utterly unattainable. Of course you're fixating on him." She'd always prided herself on her self-control and her ability to be sensible in love affairs. Now, Koichira knew, she was acting just as stupid as everyone she had ever mocked. "Kuso, how did I get myself into this fix? Hopelessly obsessed with a dying monk?"

Her thoughts were interrupted when Takayuki doubled over, coughing. He fell down on his hands and knees, his body still convulsing with the coughing. Koichira gritted her teeth and left deep scratches in the tree branch with her claws, but she resisted the urge to run to him and help. The fire demon had promised herself not to become involved until the monk himself told her that he was dying and that he wanted her help. Even Koichira wasn't sure if she wanted those words as proof of his trust, or if she just wanted him to humble himself by begging her for help.

She waited until his coughing had stopped and he had done his best to wipe off the blood staining his lips before she dropped down from the tree and approached. "Eh, Houshi-sama!" she called, "what are you doing sitting in the beans? Here, I'll give you a hand." She helped him to his feet, but was alarmed by the way he continued to lean on her, as if he could no longer support his own weight. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Houshi-sama, have you eaten today?" He mumbled something about not being hungry, but she brushed this off. "You go inside and prepare lunch for both of us, I'll fetch water."

Just as she reached the stream, Koichira felt herself crumbling; tears leaked out of her closed eyes. "Shimatta! What happened to the self-control I was so proud of? He's only a human, after all, they live such a short time under the best of circumstances . . ." She splashed icy water on her puffy eyes and dropped her hands back into the water. The current tugged gently at her fingertips in a comforting gesture. Smiling wryly at the water, she admitted, "I guess I'm not as strong as I thought I was." She was startled out of her misery by a fish jumping high in the air, just in front of her face. The scales on its twisting body and the spray of water both sparkled in the early-afternoon sunlight. She thanked the river and asked it not to worry. "I'll be fine, and I promise to take care of your monk. To the end."

Koichira filled the bucket and stood, but paused. There was a strange scent on the breeze. It reminded her of a damp cave filled with old snake skins, animal bones and spider webs. The fire demon was edgy the rest of the afternoon and insisted on sleeping beside the monk's door. It wasn't until shortly after midnight that the enemy attacked.


	9. Spider's Web

You've made it! This chapter is where the real story, as I imagined it, begins. In fact, I wrote this chapter first, but couldn't explain the backstory, so I wrote pre-chapters, and then had to completely change this chapter to match the backstory. Ugh!

I wanted to write up to this point before posting anything so that I could go back and change details. With any luck, it's a stronger piece because of that.

Review, pretty please! Also, check out my AU Inu-fic, "The Council". I promise lots of Sesshomeru yumminess. (I can't believe I just said that).

Ch 9: Spider's Web

Koichira stirred restlessly in her sleep. In an instant, she was completely alert, with a lingering feeling of unease. There was someone-- or something-- just outside her range, tugging at her senses.

The waxing gibbous moon cast the meadow and forest surrounding the cabin into sharp relief. Every leaf, every blade of grass had its own hard-edged shadow. Koichira could almost taste the new grass pushing up through earth damp from the dew, the tall cedar that sheltered the hut under its spreading branches, and a hare curled up in its burrow. A whooshing sound heralded the approach of a breeze. It rustled the treetops before ruffling the tall grass in waves. Koichira shivered: on the breeze was a scent that raised the fine hairs on the back of her neck. She recognized the scent of yokai but there was also the cloying sweetness of rotting meat. A scavenger demon?

Not a true threat, but still-- suspicion nagged at her. Why would a scavenger demon, who haunted battlefields and villages ravaged by sickness, come so deep into the forest? A scavenger demon was too weak to steal the jewel shards or threaten the village, so she tried to relax. Her muscles remained knotted and adrenaline pumped through her blood. She felt only the hint of demonic power, but even that was too strong for ten scavenger demons.

The wind shifted, and Koichira was overwhelmed by the nauseating scent of rotten human flesh. She could hear Takayuki stir within the cabin. If the scent was strong enough to wake him, its source must be close.

In the brilliant moon, it was difficult to catch movement within the forest's shadows. Figures materialized, standing even with the last row of trees. They did not step foot within the meadow, but stood as silent sentinels. The sunken eyes of the corpses stared at Koichira.

"Takayuki-sama!" she called softly. She heard him stand and approach. His eyes were dark with worry, but even in the bleaching moonlight she could see that there was more color in his cheeks then there had been that afternoon. The meal and rest had somewhat restored him.

"Koichira? Is something wrong?" He gasped audibly when he saw the corpses. "What . . .?"

"They're puppets, not true zombies. That means the puppet master should be nearby."

They were startled by another speaker. "You wish to see me?" The velvety voice was laughing. Out of the shadows came the speaker, wearing the skin of a white baboon. On either side of him were his servants: a young woman with severe features holding a red fan, and a girl with flowing white hair, clutching a mirror to her chest.

Koichira was on her feet instantly and automatically prepared her power. The three had slipped past both her wards and her alert senses. It was definitely the same scent as before: spider webs and shed snakeskin. Koichira's lip curled into a snarl. "Who are you, and what do you want?"

"It is customary to introduce yourself first, girl, before asking for names."

"I am Quickfire." Koichira spat the words. "This is my power." She raised her hands and sent out twin jets of fire to incinerate each of the corpses in turn. She was finished in less than twenty seconds.

"I see," said the man in the baboon pelt. "I apologize for my earlier rudeness. These are my daughters, Kagura of the wind and Kanna of the mirror." Kagura inclined her head in a mocking half-bow. Kanna remained blank and motionless. "I am Naraku. I have come, naturally, for the shards of the Shikon jewel. Give them to me."

Koichira hissed, "I couldn't if I wanted to."

"Very well," Naraku said, "Kill them, Kagura."

"Wind shards!" Kagura smirked as Koichira grabbed Takayuki around the waist and rolled so that the blades barely missed them. The wind attack sliced into the hut's support posts and brought down the roof.

"Takayuki-sama, I need you to run away."

"But . . ."

"Dammit, I can't fight while I'm protecting you." Too late; three tornadoes danced from the end of Kagura's fan. They would be impossible to dodge.

Takayuki said, "I'm not completely helpless, you know." The shimmering blue dome he raised around them thwarted the wind demon's attack.

"Nicely done," Koichira admitted. "Drop it, NOW." Startled, the monk complied just in time; a fireball erupted from the fire demon's hands and streaked towards Naraku.

Kanna stepped forward as if in a trance. Koichira realized, to her discomfort, that she couldn't sense the child-demon's power at all. Kanna raised her mirror just as the fireball struck. The attack reflected and soared back to strike its master, who shielded the monk with her own body. For an instant, the fire demon was surrounded by a tower of flame.

Concentrating, Koichira channeled the power of the flames licking over her skin through her hands and down into the soil. The heat acted like a directional shock wave in the earth that exploded beneath Naraku and his incarnations. Only Naraku's miasma shield saved them. He growled something at Kanna, who dropped her empty eyes obediently. Again, zombies entered the clearing from all directions, carrying pitchforks and scythes. The fire demon raised her hand with a snort. Had they already forgotten how easily she had reduced the last round to ash?

Her hand stopped, mid-gesture, and her face twisted with revulsion a moment before Takayuki grabbed her elbow. "Koichira, stop, you mustn't! They're--"

"I know," she murmured, her bile rising. Koichira felt hatred growing inside her towards that abomination Naraku. Advancing from every direction were rows and rows of villagers. Although they moved like the marionettes she had burned before, this group was still alive. "Alive," Koichira thought grimly, "but soulless._"_

Already, the empty shells were close enough for Koichira and Takayuki to recognize their faces. That old man's kneecap had been shattered by a fall; without Takayuki's healing he would have never walked again. The woman carrying a scythe that was too heavy for her was Misa, the woman whose son Koichira had found earlier that day. The boy himself carried a shovel and stared forward without a glimmer of consciousness in his eyes. Koichira choked when she recognized Itsuko and his younger brother Yota, whose face was slack and emotionless. Both of their souls were stolen.

Koichira surveyed the group grimly. "Houshi-sama, I have to--"

"No." The unequivocal answer was barely more than a whisper. Then his voice rose, guttural but determined. "No. I won't let you kill them. All we have to do is destroy the mirror, and I'm sure they will be released."

Koichira turned to look at the mirror, and saw traces of the souls trapped inside trying to escape. "How can we break the mirror, if all attacks are reflected?"

"The Suzaku technique. The mirror allows souls to enter, so a soul attack should work." Standing close beside her, Takayuki heard the breath catch in her throat and could almost taste the cold sweat beaded on her brow. "Please, Koichira. I need your help."

Dropping her eyes, Koichira nodded. She focused her attention and power inward, then leapt out. The golden bird beat her wings three times, climbing until she was level with the treetops, before diving at her enemies. Kanna raised her mirror. The phoenix struck the surface, then penetrated into the void beneath the reflection. The three demons were stunned. Naraku demanded, "Kanna? Why didn't the attack reflect?"

The little girl shook her head, confused. Suddenly she stiffened and out of her throat came the phoenix's cry. The bird's scream filled the void and caused the mirror to vibrate violently. Unable to stand the noise and vibrations invading her being, Kanna released the seal on the mirror.

The souls of the villagers floated out of the mirror, resembling small glowing white lights. Last, the golden bird burst out, triumphant. At the sight of Naraku, the phoenix attacked fiercely with beak and talons, tearing at the other demon. Beneath the baboon pelt, a strange metamorphosis took place. Tentacles emerged and struck at the great bird, but they passed through her insubstantial body. She grabbed in her beak a small wooden doll and wrenched it from the demon's body, which turned immediately to earth.

In a swirl of miasma, the demon puppet was gone, replaced by the true Naraku. The strength of the miasma's poison alone was proof that his power surpassed that of any of his puppets or incarnations. The golden bird beat her wings desperately to climb above the poisonous fumes, but one of her legs was grabbed by an instantly-created tentacle. As it was dragged back down, the phoenix turned on its attacker, plunging her beak deep into the body and through his very heart. Although insubstantial, the golden bird could strike at the demon's very soul.

The phoenix tried to fly away, only to learn that it had been captured. Naraku's substance flowed like a liquid to surround the soul-bird and incorporate her powers into Naraku. Weakened first by the mirror and then further by the poisonous miasma, the phoenix couldn't escape. Darkness closed over her; she was buried alive inside the demonic monster.

Takayuki watched in horror while holding tight to Koichira's abandoned body. "This is my fault," he whispered into her ear. "But don't worry. I swear on my vow as a monk that I will protect you!" He said a silent prayer to Buddha for this to work and concentrated on filling her shell with all of his healing energy. Sweat beaded on his forehead, but he refused to stop.

Inside the wriggling mass that was Naraku, the golden phoenix began to glow with a blue aura. The healing power drove back Naraku's ravenous flesh and gave the soul-bird enough strength to break free.

Koichira awoke feeling refreshed and peaceful. She could feel Takayuki's arms around her, and she opened her eyes to see his smile. His voice was strained when he said, "I've done all that I can, Koichira . . ." He began to cough into his sleeve, leaving a red stain on the inside of the elbow. Koichira sat up quickly and caught him around the shoulders, supporting his body while the coughing fit continued. It was much worse than it had been before.

Koichira raised her voice to ask Naraku, "What did you do to him?"

From beneath the baboon mask, the monster laughed. "I? He killed himself when he rescued your phoenix. He doesn't have long to live, now. Perhaps I'll make a puppet of his corpse."

Holding the monk close to her chest, Koichira could feel the coughing tearing apart his body, even as she heard the rattling of his dying lungs. How many more breaths could he take? Twenty? Thirty? Koichira knew he wouldn't live out the hour. Clenching her jaw, she made her decision. "Domo arigato, Takayuki-sama." She cradled his head tenderly and snapped his neck with a sudden twist. As the still-warm body burst into flames and was incinerated to fine ash, she whispered, "Gomen nasai."

Naraku called, "Bravo. I'm truly impressed, Quickfire, I didn't think you had it in you. I thought you'd hold his hand until the end, then weep piteously. But to snap his neck like that . . . I've seen cats who show more care killing mice."

"The merciful blade is not new to me, or to you. After all, we are both demons of chaos, ne?" Koichira stood straight and tall; her eyes were dry. "Attack. What are you waiting for?"


	10. Demon of Chaos

Warning: gory, seriously disgusting chapter. I'm going to have nightmares for weeks about this chapter, and I'm the one who wrote it! Not for the weak of stomach. Ew, yuck, and gross.

Chapter 10: Demon of Chaos

Kira rationalized that she was buying time for the villagers to escape. In truth, the hatred she felt toward Naraku overshadowed all other considerations. Her next attack was barely controlled; it charred the grass and might have started a forest fire if Naraku hadn't smothered the flame with his miasma.

Kagura returned the attack, sending windshards and lethal dust devils in turn. Unable to block with only fire, Kira found herself dodging, diving and rolling out of the way of the knife-like winds, until she didn't quite dodge one of the windshards. It opened up a gaping wound from one side to the other across her abdomen. She staggered into the path of two other shards; one sliced her hamstring at the back of the left thigh, the other cut deep into her right shoulder.

For a long moment, Kira couldn't feel any of her wounds. She watched hot, sticky blood seep between her fingers. "I'm losing too much blood," she thought clearly, "I'm going to die." She collapsed to the ground as the suppressed pain surged to the front of her consciousness.

Then, she was safe. He was there, holding her up on her feet, speaking to her, healing and protecting her. She managed to whisper, "Thank the gods you're here, Takayuki-sama."

She was floating away when she heard someone calling her name, over and over again. "Kira-joshi. Kira! Kira-joshi, wake up."

When she opened her eyes, Kira saw square, honest features in a sunburned face. His eyes were deep brown, not the color of the ocean. She muttered, "Of course. He's dead. I killed Takayuki-sama . . ."

The man shook her frantically. "Kira-joshi, it's me: Itsuko. Wake up, please!"

With a monumental effort, Kira gathered her scattered mind, stood on her own feet and pushed him away. "Run, Itsuko-san."

"I won't . . ."

"You will if you don't want to be burned alive! GO!" He paused, but then started running for the forest and the village beyond. Naraku, who had been watching the drama unfold with great amusement, leaped forward to stop him, and was engulfed in an inferno.

Kira forced out her power with no spell or direction. She was surrounded by a growing hurricane of flames that incinerated everything it touched. It blazed through the outer layer of Naraku's shielding miasma, setting fire to the baboon pelt. Naraku tore off the cloak. The inferno pressed closer all around him and his incarnations. Just when they felt the heat beginning to burn their hair and skin, it died away.

Kira lay on a single patch of unburned grass: the eye of the fiery hurricane. She was completely exhausted, without enough power to light a candle or strength to turn her head. Her breathing was weak. Already, the ground was black with her blood.

Gentle fingers turned her head until she was staring into the most beautiful face she had ever seen. The harsh moonlight made his pale skin luminous and the shadow under his delicate jaw line absolute. His nose and lips were thin. His brow cast his eye sockets in deep shadow, but moonlight reflected off his eyes like stars shining in his eyes. Light shimmered in the glossy long hair tucked back in a high ponytail.

He leaned forward as if tenderly embracing her, and Kira felt excruciating pain explode in her abdomen as the beautiful man forced his fingers into the half-clotted wound. Mercifully, Kira fainted. The manicured fingernails of his right hand pressed into and tore apart muscle and organ tissue all the way through her body to her spine. With his other hand, he reached into a pouch to retrieve a single jewel shard, which darkened to a blood red at his touch. Using his hands as a wedge to force the wound still wider, the beautiful man shoved the tainted Shikon shard between the vertebrae of her lower back and into the spinal cord itself.

Kira awoke with a roar. Her wounds closed within seconds, and a sudden rush of power exploded out of her body like a fireball. The beautiful man was laughing Naraku's laugh. He grabbed her chin with his bloody fingers and said, "You have entertained me, so you will live a bit longer. Eventually, of course, I will take the shard back . . . but until then, I will be your master. Understand?" Kira was still. "Answer me!" demanded Naraku. He snapped his fingers, and the fire demon was instantly in such excruciating pain that she couldn't even scream. "Now," he continued calmly, "what do you say?"

Kira's lips moved, but no sound emerged. She wet her lips nervously with her tongue and whispered something. Naraku bent closer and caught the words "I'll see you in hell."

Amplified by the power of the jewel shard, the flames were hot enough to melt steel. The attack would have crippled or killed him had Naraku not leapt back and inflicted the pain again, which stopped the attack dead. Kira stiffened, arching her back until only her head, heels, and the backs of her hands touched the ground. A muscle quivered on her clenched jaw and her cords stood out on her neck. Naraku walked deliberately over her body and entered the monk's wrecked home. Kira's arm and leg bones were near breaking when Naraku released her from the pain. Exhausted and terrified, she could only turn her head to watch.

Naraku shifted aside the debris with his slender hands. Beneath the pieces of a destroyed Buddha statue, he found the three Shikon shards. Naraku's cry of pain and anger at discovering the protective shield brought a trace of a smile to Kira's lips. Naraku struggled to overcome the shield using his own shield, his miasma, his own shards-- nothing worked. He summoned his daughters, who had no better luck breaking the barrier. Kira giggled hysterically, getting louder and louder. Naraku snapped his fingers, but the fire demon somehow continued to laugh through the pain, rolling back and forth.

Furious, Naraku grabbed her by the hair and bent her head back so she would look at him. With a savage motion, he tore out her left eye with his dull fingernails and ate the eyeball. Viscous fluid and blood dripped down his chin. Kira didn't cry out in pain or stop the manic laughter. She had gone beyond pain and was rapidly losing her grip on sanity. For her entire life, she had carefully controlled the blaze of power that burned at the core of her being. Now the Shikon shard was feeding the fire until it became a bonfire that threatened to consume her mind. The blood she had spilled on the ground smoked and ignited.

Naraku recognized the signs of meltdown and used his miasma to transport himself and his incarnations far away. Several seconds later, the clearing was lit by a globe of light as blinding as the sun. It expanded faster than the eye could follow until it filled the clearing and beyond. The light retracted as quickly as it had appeared, leaving behind an ashy landscape as desolate as the moon; of the four rows of trees that had been enveloped there was no trace. At the core of the destruction lay Kira's naked body, which was half-buried in the ash and curled into the fetal position. The only evidence of injury was the pair of scars: one stretched across her abdomen, and the other marked the empty socket of her left eye. If you had the spiritual gift, you could also have seen the glow of a Shikon shard between two vertebrae in her lower back. In the shocked silence of a forest that seemed to be holding its breath, one could almost hear the echoes of her insane laughter.


End file.
